Scrubber



April 15, m30..

.1. A. CAMPBELL L75407 SCRUBER Filed Novl 5, 1928 2 Sheeis-Shet l PatentedA prl 15, 1930 UNITED STATES JULIAN A. CAMPIELL, OF LONG- BEACH, CALIFOIRNIA` SCRUBBER Application lcd- November foreignmaterlals as completely as possible in order to prevent contamination of the ab v sorptionhoil. It is a common occurrence, however, thatvdifculties inplant operation are experienced dueto the presence of crude oilniistin' the natural gas; especially is this the `ca'se in fields wherein there is a large flushA productionyand in which the traps in the gas lines become overloaded. In some elds,

this mist content amounts to va considerable' quantity of` crude -oil which, in passing into the absorber with'the gas, becomes mixed with the absorption oil, and upon subsequent distillation of the absor tion oil gives up only its comparativelyi liglit fractions in the distillation process.

Thus the asphalt content of the absorption oil is continually increased,4 with the effect that the absorptive qualities of the oil are correspondingly impaired. In addition, the asphaltic bodies` have a further deleterious action on the absorption oil in that they raise its viscosity, lower its thermal conductivity causing low vheattransfer in the interchangers and coolers, and also in that they have a tendency to deposit in the form of an asphaltic-scum in the tubes of the `heating and cooling apparatus. K

Although various devices are in use for effecting theA elimination of the crude' oil mists, these devices being commonly termed mist extractors, centrifugal separators," and numerous other devices which depend for operation upon the principle of throwing out the entrained liquid particles'by virtue of rapid these various devices, while eliminating a cerv tain amount of the mist, are comparatively ineffective in completely separating this objectionable agent of contamination.

. It hasbeen observed further that in certain changes in the direction of How of the gas,

5, 192s. serial No. 317,346.

lields the gas carries a certain amount of foreign matter such asiiuely divided oxide, silica and other materials-almost colloidal in nature which are identified as particles of rotary mud. Inasmuch as the gas in almost all b5` instances carries with it a certain amount of moisture, these solid particles act effectively as agents in effecting the formation of emulsions between the absorption oil and the gas carried moisture. K It is essential therefore, thatfa form of apparatus be provided that is effective notonly in removing the crude oil mist, but which in addition, is equally effective in removing the solid materials and emulsiied Water.

Accordingly,.b`y means ofthe present invention, I have provided apparatus lby which the natural. gas may be freed completely of foreign substances before passing to the main 4. plant absorbers, thereby insuring` highly'ef- 70 ficient operation by proper conditioning of the absorption oil. In accomplishing these results I subject the gas to what may be considered preliminary selective absorption, that is, a preliminary absorption stage in which substantially nothing but the foreign mates rials mentioned above are removed from the gas. As will be seen later, the apparatus is adapted to operate continuously in purifying the natural gas stream prior to' its further 80 treatment in the ,absorption plant. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent in the following detailed description of a typical em' bodiment thereof, reference being had throughout the description' tov the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the scrubber;

Fig. 2 is a reduced horizontal section on line 90 2-2of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a correspondingly reduced sectien on line 3-3 of Fig. l. A U

It will be understood that although I have shown the invention as applied to a scrubber, certain general characteristics of the device may be employed to advantage in other types of equipment concerned with the treatment of gases or liquids by more or less intimate exposure of one tothe other, and therefore lm Y claims, to form the members 13 of an suit-` i iron rims 18 are welded on the upper surfaces `s ace 19. The

capacity orhandling large volumes of gas. Gas is introduced to the shell through the inlet l1 and after treatment vas hereinafter described flows from the shell through outlet 12 in the top closure 10.

Within the shell is a plurality of vertically paced apertured decks or plates 13, of which ere may be any suitable number, three being shown as typical. Although it is within the scope of the invention, as set forth in the able construction such as will allow t e -upward flow of-vapors or gases therethrough and yet hold the liquid through which the p are to be passed, I prefer to construct hese members `of perforated sheet metat plates. The plates are shaped in the form of inverted cones, having their apices at or near the axis of the shell, the slope of the plates referabl being such as to enable emulsified' iquid bo ies later described, to flow radially inward to the a ices of the plates. Although the plates may e su ported by any suitable means, I have provi ed as a typical means, vertical supporting rods 14 threaded in eollars 15 in bottom closurel 10b, and having u per spacer segments 16 threaded in collars 17) carrled in the plates. -Annular channel of the plates and are spaced as at 19 from shell 10. The joint between each plate and the shell is made substantially liquid tight by means of suitable packing 20 placed in packing is held in place by t 'e use of packing rings 20a positioned by screws 17" 1n the rings and set up against the shell.

In the bottom of the shell I have provided a chamber 24, separate from the float charnber C, and communicating with the exterior of the shell through line 25. A plurality of vertical discharge lines 26 extend at their upper ends through one each of each plate 13, and open at their lower ends, at28, into chamber 24. Inines 26 extend uthrough the plates substantially at their apices, and, for

urposes later described, serve to conduct 'quld from each of the plates to chamber 24, from which it is discharged out of the scrubber throu h line 25. Plates 13 may be formed so that their apices are relatively offset in order that the vertical lines 26 may `open thereto directl at the apices, or, due to the relatively gra ual slope of the sides of the late the apices may be vertically alined and he discharge lines o'set with relation therev Comparatively light or absorption liquid from header 30 1s delivered on each of plates.

plate, to flow more orvless radially inward thereon.

The `gas introduced to the shell through inlet 11 tends, upon iowing upward through the plate by way ofperforations 35, not only to bubble upward through the liquid contained on each plate, butto cause this liquid to build upinto a mass of froth to such an extent that there is but comparativelylittle unfrothed liquid thereon. Substantially the same action occurring in the present device as regards the building up of a froth body, is fulily discussed in my co-pending application on method of absorption, Serial No. 184,870, filed April 19, 1927. y

Extending throu h each of the 'plates is a suitable number o'liquid discharge tubes 37, three for each plate being shown as typical,

the upper ends of these tubes in each plate preferably being in the same horizontal plane, and the lower ends of the tubes carried in the two upper plates terminating more or'less closely to the tops of the plates below. A froth breaking pan 38 is mounted on the upper end of each delivery tube, the pan preferably being relatively shallow and having sharp upper edges for purposes that will later be made apparent.4 A spreader cone 39 is mounted on the lower end of each delivery tube 37, except those of the lowermost plates, the pur ose of these cones being to spread the liquid owing downward through the tube, over a large surface of the froth plate below. Although the lower end of the lowermost discharge tubes 28 may be provided with any suitable rform of liquid seal cup, preferably they are permitted to extend below the liquid level in the float chamber C, thus preventing the flow of gas upward through lthese tubes. It may be noted that the plate and delivery tube structure in the present scrubber has cer tain general characteristics similar to the ab sorber structure described in the Patent No. 1,654,785 issued to me January 3rd, 1928, on absorbers. The liquid body 40, delivered to the Heat chamber C through lines 37, is l. aintained at constant level L in the chainber by means of float 41 in conjunction with the float controlled and balanced valve 42 in outlet line 43, the latter 'preferably extending as at 43"1 from a point near the bottom of the ioat chamber.

sorption liquid may be supplied toany one or all the plates through line Blby regulat ing valves 44, I will describe the operation of the invention' assuming that such liquid is delivered Aonly to the.uppermost plate. The

t liquid discharged through slot 33 tends to flow radially inward on the plate and to spread more or less thinly thereupon. Due to the upward iiow of gas through the perforations, t-he absorption liquidi's changed practically entirely to a body of froth, thisliquid being prevented from flowing through, the plates y Way of perforations 35 on account of vthe gas pressure. The body offroth above each plate is built u to the edge level of pan 38, and froth bub les tending to flow into the pan, come into contact with the sharp upper edges thereof and become broken. The liquid collected inthe pan iiows downward through pipe 37 to the plate below, the liberated vapor then flowing upwardly. Because of the'continuous breaking of the Dfroth bubbles above the uppermost plate a considerable space S, preferably is provided in the upper portion ofthe shell in order that entrained-liquid particles carried above that plate by the gases,

may be caused to drop back onto the plate before reaching the outlet 12.

As previously stated, the gas flowing into the scrubber through inlet 1 1 contains among other possible` impurities, crude oil mist, solid particles, and a certain 'amount of moisture. When the ygas is brought into intimate contact with the absorption oil on each plate as described, the crude oil'mist immediately becomes held or carried in solution in the absorption oil. Due to the effect had by the solid particles, as previously mentioned,

in aiding the formation of an emulsion betweenthe gas carried liquid and thev absorption oil, substantially complete removal of liquid from the feed gas is eiiected which liquid appears as emulsified globules at the bottom of each froth body and on each plate.

Inasmuch as the surfaces of .plates 13 are` oily, theemulsions formed thereupon tend to slide down and into discharge tubes 26u and thence into the chamber 24. Sufficient pressure is maintained in the scrubber duringopn eration that, the continuous discharge froml chamber 24 through line 25.may be maintained by adjusting valve 25t'connectingr the chamber with the atmosphere. The solid particles may either settle o ut to chamber 24 along with the Water and become discharged through line 25, or they may, to a certain extent, be held in the absorption oil.

Should the plates become dirty, they can readily be flushed eithery with `water or hot oil in line 45 by proper adjustment of the valves in header 30 and branch lines 31. 'lhe same type of liquid used in the main plant absorbers, may satisfactorily serve as the circulating medium in the present scrubber. This liquid, of course, soon absorbs a considerable amount of gasoline, but soon reaches a degree `of saturation which will" permit the gasoline'fractions to flow through the highly saturated liquid without-'being ab: sorbed. In order to effect continuous circulation of the absorbir'ig liquid tliewdischjrge line 30aI communicates with headersf'and thus the liquid in body 40 Ais continusly forced by pump P through the upper ring pipe 32 on theuppermost plate, or also through any or all of the other plates should it be so desired. Should an excessive amount Ofvliq'uid be takenI into the scrubber so as to abnormally raise theliquid level L, the balanced valve 42 opens when the-float rises and permits the discharge of excess liquid through line 48.

As a general summary of the operation of the invention it will be seen that whereas gas 'con-taining comparatively heavy liquid-par liquid, but also for separately removingthe Vheavy liquid from the system.

It will be understood thedrawin'gs and description are to be considered merely as illustrative of kand not restrictive, on. the broader claims appended hereto, for -various changes in design, structure and arrangement may lbe made without departing from the,

I claim: h

l. A device ofthe character described embodying a vertical Shell, a horizontally; eX- tending 'perforated plate within the shell, a liquid inlet for delivering' ,comparatively light liquid on topsaid'plate, a gsinlet for introducing gas containing comparatively heavy liquid particles beneath the plate, the gas body flowing upward through the plate spirit and scope of said claims.

perforations and the heavy liquid particles being` heldin the light liquid on said plate, means associated with said plate for separately removing the liquid, and means for conducting said lightv liquid downward through the plate. i

llt)

2. A device of the character described em bodyinga .vertical shell, a plurality of vertically spaced and horizontally extending apertured plates in the shell, a liquid inlet for deliveringcomparatively light liquid on top the uppermost plate, meansY for delivering saidlight liquid downward and successively over each plate, a gas inlet for introducing gas containing comparatively heavy liquid y* particles beneath the lowermost plate, the gas flowing upward through the plate apertures and the heavy liquid particles being held in the light liquid on each plate, and

means associated with each plate for sepa? rately removing said heavy fluid.

3. A device of the character described einbod ing a vertical shell, a plurality of vertica ly spaced and horizonta ly extending apertured plates in the shell, a li uid inlet for delivering comparatively lightl iquid on top the u permost .plate` means for delivering o said light liquid downward and successively over each pate, a gas inletfor introducing gas containing comparatively heav liquid particles beneath the lowermost ate, the gas flowing u ward through the p ate apertures and the eavy liquid particles emulsifying with the liquid on each plate and settling to the bottom thereof, andV means for vdrawa gas inlet .for introducing' gas containing" comparatively heavy li uid particles beneath the owermost plate, t e gas body flowin upward through the plate perforations an the heavy liquid particles being held in and settling to the bottom of the light liquid on each late, and means'for drawing olf the settle liquid from the apex of each plate.

5. I'n a device of the character described, a. vertical sliell, a plurality of verticallyv spaced and inverted conical perforated lates in the shell, said plates havin relative y olfset apices, a liquid iinletfor elivering com-y paratively light liquid onA top tplie uppermost plate, means for delivering sai lig it 1i uid ownward and successively over each 'p ate, a gas inlet for introducing gas containin com aratively heavy liquid articles beneat the owermost plate, the gas ody flowing upward through the plate perforations and the heavy liquid articles being -held 4in and `settlin to tl'ie ottom of the light liquid on each p ate, a chamber in said shell below the lowermost plate and coinmunicatin with the shell exterior, and a pluralit of liquid delivery pipes extending one eac from the apex of each plate to said chamber. 6. 4Inadevice of the character described, a vertical shell, a plurality of vertically spaced and inverted conical perforated plates in the shell, Va liquid inlet embodying van annular pipe extending on the outermost lextent of the up erniost plate and having anopening throug its inner periphery, comparatively light liquid being discharged through said opening on said uppermost plate, means for delivering saidv light li uid downward and successively over each p ate, a gas inlet for u. introducing gas containing comparatively annular pipes extending one each on the outer l l portion of eachplate and each pipehaving an annular slot in its inner periphery, .coniparatively light liquid being discharged on the plate through said slots, means for deliverin said lig t liquid downward and successivef over yeach plate, a. gas inlet for introducing gas containing comparatively heavy liquid particles beneath the lowermost plate, the gas body flowing upward through the plate perforations and the heavy liquid particles being held in and settlin to the bottom of the light liquid on each plgate, and means for drawing off the settled liquid from the apex of each plate. Y

8. A device of the character described einbodying a vertical shell, a plurality'f vertii cally spaced and inverted conical perforated plates in the shell, means for delivering liquid on to the uppermost plate, a gas inlet for intro ucinor gasl below the lowermost plate, froth breaking means arranged above said 'plate and equip ed with liquid delivery means to deliver iquid to a point above the plates below, and means for drawing off liquid from substantially the apex of each,

plate.

9. A bodying laver-tical shell, a plurality of vertically s aced and inverted conical perforated plates in the shell, means for delivering device of the character described emi' liquid on top the uppermost plate, a gas inlet for introducing gas below the lowermost plate, froth breakingpans arranged above said. plates, liquid delivery vtubes extending downward from the froth breaking pans of each plate to deliver liquid .from the pans to the ate below, a chamber in said shell below the` owerr'nost plate and communicating with the shell exterior, and a plurality of liquid delivery pipes extending one each from substantially the apex of each plate to said chamber.

l0. A device of thev character described embodying a Vertical shell, a plurality of vertically spaced and inverted conical plates in the shell, froth breaking pans'arranged above each plate, liquid ldelivery tubes extending downward from the froth breaking pans of each plate to deliver liquid from the pans to the plate below, a chamber in said shell below the lowermost plate and communicating with the shell exterior, a plurality of liquid delivery pipes extending one each from the apex isfl e. a' 'liquid in deyof September, 1928.

of each plate to seidl chamber;- edges inlet for Y' introducin? gas below the lowermost plete, etembodyin'g an annular pipe on the upper plete andeXtending on the outer portion thereof,saidannular-pipe having an annularslot in its 'inner periphery through which feed liquid is adapted to be discharged, and e vplurality of liquid delivery pipes eX- tending one each from substantially the apex of each plate. to said chamber.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing Iy have hereunto subscribed Vmy name this 27 fv JULIAN A. oAMBELL. 

